You can make Stage 1 foods, Stage 2 foods, Stage 3 foods, or even smoothies! I used mine to make salsa once too! Check out Fun With Four's Baby Bullet Review.

One lucky winner will win a complete Baby Bullet System, valued at $59.99.
Must be a US resident, 18 and up
All winning entries will be verified.
Giveaway begins 7/28/2013 at 1am CDT and ends 8/12/2013 11:59pm CDT.
Good Luck!!!

Disclosure: This blog, Fun With Four, and Everything Mommyhood is not responsible for prize shipment, as this is a sponsored prize. We were not compensated in any way for promotion of this giveaway. Fun With Four/Everything Mommyhood received the above mentioned item, in exchange for an honest review. Our opinions are not influenced in any way. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and any other social media are not affiliated with this giveaway. If you have any questions please contact the host of this giveaway at EverythingMommyhood@gmail.com.

This system would be perfect for anyone expecting a new bundle of joy. In my opinion, your travel system is the most important purchase you will make when you are expecting, BUT if you enter to win this, maybe you won't have to!!

Everything Mommyhood has teamed up with Evenflo to give away the Evenflo Featherlite 200 Travel System to one of our lucky readers. This travel system is only available for purchase at Target and is valued at $179.99!

Here's some great info directly from Evenflo's site about the Featherlite Travel System:

Weighing up to 20% less than comparable full-size strollers, the Featherlite is light on weight but strong on features. Such features range from foot-activated dual rear brakes and front swivel locking wheels to a child tray with cup and snack area. A large storage basket below will help carry many of baby’s needs. This travel system comes with the stroller, car seat base and Embrace® 35 infant Car Seat.

Central level indicator can be seen from either side for correct car installation

If you know a mom to be, are one yourself, or already have a newborn, this is the perfect giveaway for you!
One lucky reader will win the Evenflo Featherlite 200 Travel System featured above, retail $179.99.
US Resident Only, 18 and Up
Giveaway begins 7/20/2013 at 1am CST and ends 8/10/2013 at 11:59pm CST.
ALL winning entries WILL be verified, winner will be contacted via email and will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner will be chosen.

Disclosure: This blog was not compensated for the posting of this giveaway. Evenflo is responsible for the shipment of the above aforementioned prize. Our opinions are 100% our own and may differ from those of your own. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and any other social media are not affiliated with this giveaway. If you have any questions please contact the host of this giveaway at EverythingMommyhood@gmail.com.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

We've been on summer break for well over a month now and we are already hitting some boredom. I was thrilled when we received this Make-A-Plate kit from MakIt to review! Around the holidays, mothers & fathers day, we are always looking for personalized or handmade treasures to give grandparents for gifts. I was so glad to find these kits, they are going to be great to do again in a few months for Grandma! Plus, I think the kids are going to get a real kick out of eating their meals on their own creations!!

Our kit came with a package of Crayola markers, 25 blank templates (which is great, because we all know what perfectionists little kids are), an envelope & order form to send your pictures back to MakIt.

How it works!

MakIt's plates are 10 inches in diameter and are made out of break-resistant, durable melamine. They are non-toxic (BPA free) and are dishwasher safe. MakIt suggests not using them in the microwave.

MakIt has numerous other personalized projects. The Photo Projects turn your digital photos into a present to treasure. Pick the type of product you would like -a plate, tumbler, mug, bowl or platter - to personalize, upload your photos to the MakIt website and then add any customization you would like! There are options for classroom projects and for fundraising!

MakIt would like to offer my readers a $5 discount on their orders! To order your MakIt kit, use this link!

One lucky reader will win a MakIt plate kit! To enter, use the rafflecopter below. Giveaway is open to all US residents, 18+.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

So if you are like me, you spend some time on Pinterest each day. Or while you are trying to sleep at night. Or while you are waiting at the doctor's office. Or while you are suffering through the tenth viewing of Sofia the First. Anyway, you get my point. I pin stuff all the time. I only actually try a handful of the pins. I even had to re-organize my boards and label one "Realistic Meal Ideas" because some of the recipes I was pinning before were not so much realistic. This is definitely "Pinworthy" and Mom approved.

So, yesterday I decided I was going to try to clean my top loading washing machine. My washer is 3 years old, it is a GE Profile High Efficiency Top Loader with the stainless steel drum. It has been used and abused. My husband works in a field where he sometimes come home with really stinky and dirty clothes. I have two daughters under the age of 5. You get the idea. It needed it and I had never cleaned my washing machine before, because to be honest, I never realized they needed cleaned.

Things you are going to need:
1 Quart of Regular Bleach
1 Quart of White Distilled Vinegar
Approximately 3 hours of your time (Not completely devoted to this cleaning, but that is how long it takes)

1.) Set your washing machine to the highest load setting. You want to make sure it fills most of the drum with water. In my case, I set mine to the "SUPER LOAD" setting. The setting you use when you are trying to cut down the 5 loads of laundry into 3.

2.)Adjust the water temperature setting to HOT. The setting I use after some funky sickness finds its way into my house or when I want to scald the crap out of a load of dirty towels.

3.) As the water is filling up, slowly pour the quart of BLEACH in. And adjust your gas mask.

4.) Once it is done filling, let the machine agitate for two minutes.

5.) Open the lid, observe the gunk that has already risen from the depths of your washing machine. Gag. Then let the water soak for an hour.

6.) After the hour, go back to your machine open the lid and be amazed at the crap that is laying in the bottom.

7.) Let it run through the longest cycle setting. Mine is "EXTRA HEAVY".

8.) Repeat steps 1 and 2.

9.) This time as the water is filling up, pour in the quart of vinegar. Gag. Sputter. Adjust your gas mask.

10.) Repeat steps 4 through 7.

You seriously will be amazed at how well this works. I thought for sure after I did the bleach steps nothing else could possibly come out of there. WRONG! The vinegar step was actually way more gross. The water was tinted a greenish brown and there was still some gunk floating around and settling on the bottom of my machine.

I started to take pictures, but then I had to take K2 downstairs with me to restart the machine between the bleach and vinegar steps and I really didn't need to have my camera knocked into the machine. But here are some pictures from only about 10 minutes into the bleach cycle:

Mind you, these were only 10 minutes into the first portion. It just got worse as it soaked.

This was super easy and effective! And when you are a mom, that is all that matters!

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

The hubs, K1, K2, and I spent Friday evening through Sunday afternoon with family in the Washington DC area. Let me tell you how much I *heart* the DC area. I always have. When I was younger, I would go to DC about 2 times a year with my family to stay in Falls Church, VA and take in all the Nation's Capital has to offer. I love the hustle. I love the variety. I love the cleanliness. I absolutely LOVE the people watching. The hubs....not so much. In his eyes, there are way too many cars on the road. They switch lanes too abruptly. There are too many people....they make him nervous. Even still, deep down I know he loves it too.

You see, as I mentioned before, our town is REALLY small. I'm talking no grocery store. One CVS, one gas station small. EVERYONE knows you...and your business. But, that is the kind of thing Hubs likes. Well, not the knowing your business part, but the fact that you know everyone around you, so you are comfortable. There is never traffic here. Unless there is a fire, car accident, or a lot of police activity on a certain street. Then there is traffic. Because, once again, EVERYONE wants to know everyone else's business.

ANYWAY, we left Friday afternoon for the 3ish hour trek South. K1 and K2 did wonderfully in the car. In fact, neither one made a peep. Except for K1 asking for snacks or for me to change the DVD in the DVD player. Sidenote: If you are going on a long trip and you don't have DVD players, consider purchasing some. They are sanity savers fo' sho'! I also recommend a snack basket filled with easy to open, hard to make a mess snacks. You can just pass the basket back to the kids and they can have a snack buffet.

The trip down was pretty uneventful. We only had one issue. Ever see the road signs that say, "SPEED ENFORCED BY PHOTO IMAGING"? Ever say to yourself, "yeahhhhh, okay,"? Well....don't. They aren't kidding. Nope. Not at all. Hubs was cruising along just before Cumberland, MD at an easy, breezy 67 mph. Speed limit clearly is 55 mph. Hubs see aforementioned sign. He ignores it. Then, it goes a little something like this:

Hubs: Ah, son of a b!#ch!!
Me: WHAT?!
Hubs: We just got our picture taken...
Me: Uhmmm, why? (I didn't see the sign)
Hubs: There's a freaking speed trap enforced by cameras. They just took our picture. That white SUV back there.
Me: (Looks behind us along the side of the road. There is a white SUV with the entire grill covered in cameras) Oh....nice.
Hubs: Yeah I was 12 over....we are getting a ticket in the mail.

Saturday we spent the day with Hubs's family at a graduation party. They weather was perfect. The backyard was shaded just enough and the breeze blowing really kept the edge of the heat off. K1 had a blast! She jumped on the trampoline for hours. She played basketball with teenagers. She was bullied a little by 9 year old boy, but with a little help from her older cousin, she held her own. She's a feisty little thing! Here she is:

K2 napped for a good portion of the party, but then she woke up and spent the rest of the time being cute. What she is best at. Here she is:

Sunday morning, we woke up and went to.......

Ohhhh yeah. Come to Mama. I have wanted to go to Georgetown Cupcake for a LONG time. It was one of my chubby dreams. You know, right up there with visiting every single restaurant Guy Fieri goes to. So, this particular Georgetown Cupcake is in Bethesda at this really cute little area called Bethesda Row. It was about 15 minutes from where we were staying. For those that don't know, if you "Like" Georgetown Cupcake on Facebook, every day they have a secret flavor you can get for FREE if you ask for it by name. (100/location, 1/customer) This particular day it was Chocolate Covered Strawberry.

These were yellow cake with fresh strawberries baked inside, topped with chocolate ganache. Oh. My. God. Delicious. They were so yummy. I also got a variety dozen to bring home.

Believe me when I tell you these cupcakes are 100% everything they are cracked up to be. When you take your first bite, it is like trumpets sound and the angels sing. The frostings are so perfect...not too sweet, not too buttercream'y. Just perfect. The cake is moist and flavorful. If you ever have the opportunity to stop by Georgetown Cupcake, you must!

After Bethesda Row, we headed to Rockville Town Square to the little splash pad they have there. Once again, the Town Square is awesome. Filled with restaurants and shops and so visually appealing. K1 was a little hesitant at first....she usually spazzes out if the tiniest drop of water gets anywhere near her face. But not that day. Nope. She was allllll in folks.

Even K2 got in on the action:

After we left the splash pad, we went back and got our things and hit the road, Jack. We had such a fun time down there. I only wish we could have stayed longer. We are planning on returning in the fall and spending some time in the city. After all, I am sure there is PLENTY of people watching to do in DC.

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About The Duchess

I am a 29 year old mother to two adorable little girls, K1 (age 4) and K2 (age 1). I have been happily married for 7 years. Currently, I am a stay at home mommy, but I plan to start working again after the girls are both in school. I live about an hour south of Pittsburgh, PA in a "patch" town. I am quick witted, opinionated, and very passionate about things or people I care about.